Pulse Massacre

Wonderful and heartbreaking. Get a tissue. CNN reports: One of the youngest victims in Orlando’s deadly shooting was Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. Known as Omar to friends, he was a dancer and barista. On Tuesday, less than three days after Omar’s brutal murder, his grandmother, heartbroken and alone, boarded a flight to Orlando to attend his funeral. Jetblue crew member Kelly …

From USA Today: Sandy Hook Elementary was demolished after 26 people were shot and killed there. After 14 people were killed at a conference center in San Bernardino, Calif., the building remains closed. But in Orlando, after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Pulse’s nightclub owner vows to reopen. Experts say reactions to this decision may vary. Some may …

From San Diego’s ABC affiliate: Police are investigating an online threat of violence to San Diego’s LGBT community that read: “You’re next.” On Tuesday evening, a 10News viewer saw the post in the men-seeking-men section of the Craigslist San Diego personal ads. He took a screenshot and sent it to 10News before the post was flagged and removed. The post …

The Georgia Voice reports: The Atlanta Police Department confirmed they are investigating a gay Atlanta man who tweeted that he would make two local gay bars “the next Orlando.” The incident follows the early Sunday morning shooting at Orlando LGBT nightclub Pulse that left 50 dead and 53 injured. Brett Edgerton, going by the handle @BrettTEdgerton, tweeted the following: “TEN …

Via USA Today: Senate Democrats led by Chris Murphy of Connecticut ground the Senate floor to a halt Wednesday, vowing to speak as long as necessary to force the Senate to take action to address gun violence. “I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I …

From the BBC: Jamaica’s attorney general has sparked criticism after saying it was “disrespectful” to Jamaican law for the US embassy to fly a rainbow flag following the Orlando shooting. In response, the US embassy in the capital Kingston asked Marlene Malahoo Forte to explain her legal reasoning. Forty-nine people died when a gunman opened fire in a gay club …

From the New York Daily News: There’s no joke to be told here for Daily News Hillbilly-in-Chief Trae Crowder following the massacre in Orlando. In an impassioned and powerful appeal to stop the “archaic lunacy” of religious and gun fanaticism, Crowder breaks it down to its most granular level on whether you’re on the side of love or hate. “Saying …

Politico reports: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said her interview Tuesday with CNN’s Anderson Cooper was unfairly edited after it was posted online and served only to “encourage anger and hate.” In an interview with New York’s WOR 710 radio Wednesday morning, Bondi said her understanding was that her interview with Cooper would focus on donation scams surrounding the mass …

Talking Points Memo reports: Utah’s Republican lieutenant governor surprised many with his speech at a vigil for victims of the Orlando shooting on Monday, where he apologized for his previous attitude and actions against LGBT people, KSL.com reported. Addressing a crowd mourning the 49 people who were shot early Sunday morning at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, Lt. Governor …

Many pop stars have expressed solidarity with Orlando this week. Now we hear from the man who is arguably the biggest living pop star of all. And then he sings Yesterday. From the Evening Standard: Sir Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the Orlando shooting victims on stage in Berlin. The former Beatle showed his support and solidarity for the …

Via Raw Story: Columnist and activist Dan Savage bluntly rebuked Donald Trump on Tuesday for his response to the Orlando mass shooting attack. “We’re not gonna fall for it,” Savage told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “You can’t draw a clean line between the LGBT community and the Muslim community because there are LGBT Muslims in the United States and all …

Breitbart commenters are calling for her head. Because of course. Breitbart reacts:  At no time during her gun control push did Carlson mention that the Orlando attack took place in a gun-free zone; a place where club goers were disarmed, therefore defenseless. So there are numerous weapons that could have been used to inflict more casualties than we saw June …

This is the first major poll since Orlando. Via Bloomberg: Democrat Hillary Clinton has opened up a double-digit lead nationally over Republican Donald Trump, whose negatives remain unusually high for a presidential candidate amid early indications that the Orlando terrorist attack has had little direct impact on the 2016 race. A new Bloomberg Politics national poll shows Clinton leading Trump …

The NRA will probably say “yes” since this vet is also a Democratic member of the US House. Rep. Seth Moulton writes: It’s a hollow tradition following each mass shooting, and it has become routine: President Obama gives a speech, reminding us that living this way is a choice. The NRA releases a statement bemoaning the lack of guns at …

The star of Janet Porter’s anti-LGBT latest film disapproves of the attack on Orlando. Via Right Wing Watch: Shoebat, who last year was featured alongside several congressmen and GOP presidential candidates in an anti-gay “documentary,” stated that he does not support the actions of the man who opened fired on the nightclub — not because he doesn’t think that gay …

Genuine tears, apparently. From the Washington Blade: Gov. Rick Scott (R) paid tribute Tuesday to the Pulse nightclub victims and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial in downtown Orlando. In an exclusive statement to the Blade after making brief remarks to a handful of reporters, he said, fighting tears, “This was an attack against the gays, an attack against Hispanics, …

On Monday, British gay journalist Owen Jones earned international headlines when he stormed off the set of a Sky News program when the hosts refused to acknowledge homophobia’s role in the Orlando attack. Watch below as he recounts the infamous 1999 nail-bombing of London’s Admiral Duncan pub and explains how terrorists will never destroy “the love of LGBT people all …

Because Latinos can’t be gay? Talking Points Memo reports: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) reportedly argued Tuesday that Pulse, the Orlando nightclub that on Sunday became the site of the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history, was a “young person’s club” rather than a gay club. Pulse describes itself as “the hottest gay bar in Orlando” on its website and …

WOW. From Disney’s corporate blog: Today, the Walt Disney Company is announcing a $1 million cash commitment to the OneOrlando Fund, established by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to assist those affected by the tragic events in Orlando. Also, eligible donations from Disney employees will be matched dollar for dollar by Disney Employee Matching Gifts: A Program of The Walt Disney …

Via Right Wing Watch: Today on “The 700 Club,” televangelist Pat Robertson reacted to the massacre at an Orlando gay club by making the absurd claim that liberal LGBT rights advocates have aligned themselves with radical Islamists and are now reaping what they have sowed. Robertson said that liberals are facing a “dilemma” because they love both LGBT equality and …